


3, 2, 1...0!

by Bucket_head



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Luigi is there too, M/M, Minor Luigi/Peach, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bucket_head/pseuds/Bucket_head
Summary: Mario's waited for this day his whole life. The clock etched into his wrist has nearly finished ticking. In just a few minutes he'll touch his soulmate for the very first time.He just has to get through the evil Koopa King first.
Relationships: Koopa | Bowser/Mario
Comments: 3
Kudos: 125





	3, 2, 1...0!

Three minutes.

Mario rolls down his sleeve. It’s the last time he’ll let himself check it. He needs to focus, to do this right.

The blue-robed Magickoopa groans and twitches on the floor. Mario continues through the door it had been guarding before it musters the strength to fire another spell. He runs through the empty halls, across the stone bridges hanging over molten lava, fearlessly hops over gaps and climbs grating to reach his goal. 

She’s there, waiting for him to rescue her. And he’s been waiting for her all his life.

He’d known it from the moment he heard about the kidnapping. He’d had the urge to do something, that was just his nature, and then he’d looked down at his wrist. There had only been six hours left, and somehow Mario just knew.

The clock almost burns his skin now. He can mentally count the ticks without needing to look. It’s something almost everyone can do. He’s spent more than enough time staring at it, watching the numbers slowly tick away the seconds, minutes, hours until he'd finally meet the person he belonged with. His soulmate. 

Two minutes.

Another troop of Koopas and Dry Bones try to stop him, but he’s too close now. He won’t let anything stop him from meeting her. He’s going to bust into the throne room, defeat the evil Koopa King, rescue her from her cage, and then once he feels her hand lace with his the clock will finally stop its ticking. His life will be complete…no, his life will start. 

He defeats the last standing defense to the throne, and rushes to the doors.

One minute.

Mario breathes hard, hand resting on the huge gilded door. Luigi isn’t that far behind him. His brother had come along without him even needing to ask. Their clocks were only a few minutes apart, and they had always been sure they would find their soulmates together. Mario didn’t mean to rush ahead as they fought through the final castle, he just…couldn’t stop himself. A part of him thinks he should wait, he might need the backup to actually defeat the Koopa King. Mario knows him and his bro are twice as strong when they work together, but…

Forty-five seconds.

In forty-five seconds he’ll touch his soulmate for the first time. It’s his fate. And that means he needs to go now.

Mario shoves open the door and steps proudly inside the throne. His heart skips a beat. There, siting in a over-sized bird cage, is the famed Princess Peach. She looks up as she hears the door open, turning her face to him with wide, blue eyes. His princess…his soulmate.

A growl interrupts his marveling thoughts, and he turns to face the cruel king who kidnapped her. Mario takes a small step back without realizing. The king is massive, at least four or five times his size. His scales are yellow and green, his hair a fire red, and his maw is twisted into a wide smirk.

Mario glares at the evil king and stands as tall as he can, hoping his soulmate can feel the certainty in his voice when he speaks up. “King Koopa! I’m here to rescue Princess Peach! And, I’m going to defeat you!”

Thirty seconds.

The monster chuckles, red eyes narrowing. “Really. That so?”

Mario tries not to falter at the complete lack of worry in the king’s voice. He won’t let his soulmate see him uncertain. It doesn’t matter how big the Koopa is, or the size of his claws and teeth. Mario wasn’t afraid. He was going to fight and win. He had to, for her.

Mario nods and leaps forward, throwing a fireball at the large Koopa. The king retches back before the attack can make contact. A chuckle comes from the villain, and he cracks his knuckles. “A fighter…gotta be a damn good one to get here at all. I shouldn’t of thought anything less. All right. You wanna throw down? I’m game.”

Mario glares and throws several more balls of flame. Two land, but the Koopa shrugs them off with nothing but a hiss and charges forward. Right at him.

Twenty seconds.

He was running out of time for this fight. In twenty seconds he would touch his soulmate for the very first time. He needed to get to her. Maybe something else would take care of the king somehow? He could worry afterwards. Mario leaps up and dives, avoiding the charge. It takes a few seconds for the Koopa to halt his momentum and swing at him. Mario realizes it’s too dangerous to turn his back on the king. Fine. If he can't evade, he'll need to focus, to fight. The king swings again, trying to grab him, but Mario is smaller, and faster. He ducks and leaps back, mind racing to find a way to do damage or even just force the Koopa away.

Ten seconds.

The king inhales, and Mario’s eyes widen as smoke pours out the Koopa’s nostrils. He puts two and two together and dodges, but a second too late. His leg catches fire. He doesn’t have time to care. The only thought in his head is the he needs to get around the villain now. 

An idea. A stupid one. It won’t work, but he does it anyway. Overalls still flaming and burning the skin of his leg, Mario uses his dodge to continue racing around the Koopa. Like before, the king needs time to reorient himself. It gives Mario the time he needs to get behind the villain.

Mario doesn’t hesitate. He throws his arms around the king's tail and holds it tight.

The Koopa halts and suddenly laughs. Mario doesn’t stop to think about it. He pulls with all the strength he has. The laugh falters as the monster finds himself being pulled back. “Hey, what are ya-“

Mario yanks again, spinning his body and dragging the villain with him. The king backpedals with him in an effort not to fall, and Mario uses the added momentum to his advantage, twirling him harder and harder. A small yell comes from the king as his feet fall from under him, and Mario quickly uses the lack of support and friction to let go, launching the Koopa into the distance, right into the stone brick wall. The king crashes hard into it, and everything shakes. Mario grins as the king flails on the floor, hissing in pain. He pats out the flame on his leg, wincing only a bit at the light burns on his skin underneath. He turns away and looks to his soulmate, watching with awe from her cage. His heart pounds with joy, relief, excitement. Mario bounds up to her, fiddling with the lock he doesn’t actually have a key for, before he takes a step back and kicks it with all his might. The lock falls right off, and Mario pushes open the door. 

They stand there for a second, looking at each other. The Princess is so tall…regal and elegant and looking at him with surprise.

Mario doesn’t know what to say. But he knows it’s time.

He smiles at her with all his love, and hopes she understands it. With a shaky breath he reaches up and pulls back his sleeve, putting out the hand, ready to take hers in it and watch as both their clocks stopped at that prized-

0

Mario blinks. He looks at his wrist. 

0

Her hand still rests at her side, a foot from his. Her long gloves hide her clock from his sight. Mario looks at his own clock again. 

0

The Princess smiles at him. It’s full of amusement. Mario doesn’t understand it. When…when did they touch? Did Mario somehow…miss it? That moment he’s waited all his life for? 

He tries to say something to her. A question or a protest or...something. A voice pipes up from across the room before he can manage.

“Damn, that hurt. For being a human you can find ways to hit hard, huh?”

Mario blinks again. He turns his face to see the king pull himself up from the ground and stare at his arm. “…look at that.”

Mario looks at the Princess. She pats his shoulder. He jolts at the touch, and frantically looks to her arm. Princess Peach only shakes her head. When she pulls back her glove, he can see she has two minutes and ten seconds still ticking on her clock.

“But…” Mario mutters, unable to put the pieces together. The Princess is the one who helps him, gently turning his body around, and pushing him back out of the cage. For a moment Mario stands there, staring at his clock. 0.

“What a way to end it. I was gonna be all cool and pin ya to the ground or something but no. Got swung around by my ass and flung into the wall.”

Mario slowly looks away from the single, now forever unchanging digit left on his wrist. His eyes fall on the Koopa now looking back at him with a smirk. “Hope you aren’t too disappointed.” The king sneers, red eyes glinting even from across the room.

Mario feels his breath catch, and he brushes fingers across his own wrist. Emotion pours through his body, mixing with the adrenaline. His heart has never beat faster.

“You set me on fire.” Is what Mario says. 

The king pulls his head back and laughs deeply. “Well I had to do something to try and ground you. You were hopping around so much I thought you were gonna make us miss it!”

“Who…” Mario puts his hands down, and his sleeve rolls back down his arm. “Who sets their soulmate on fire?”

The Koopa walks towards him, ground vibrating with every heavy step. The grin across his maw has only gotten wider. “Ya know, I’ve got a hunch you’ll forgive me.”

“What if I don’t?”

“I’ll let ya throw me around until ya do.”

“Mario.” Mario blurts. “My name, I’m Mario.”

“King Koopa…but, Bowser, just for you.”

“Bowser…” Mario says. He looks at Bowser’s large arm. The Koopa humors him, presenting it. 0.

Mario reaches out and touches his hand. It’s so large. His doesn’t fit in it at all. 

He doesn’t want to pull away.

“I’m a plumber. I, I just came to the mushroom kingdom a few days ago. I, uh, I have a little brother, and I play tennis sometimes-“

“C’mere.” Bowser chuckles, wrapping a huge arm around Mario’s body. Before he knows it he’s in the air. “I got a feast all set up in the dinning room for the occasion. Hope ya like steak.”

Mario nods blearily. “What about the princess…?”

“Huh? Oh, Peach has got, like, another minute to go. She’ll catch up with whoever it is.”

Mario opens his mouth, and shuts it again when the door to the throne is pushed open. “B-Bro!” Luigi cries, looking around. He pales to see Mario held up in the Koopa’s grip. “Ah! I-I’ll save you, big bro!”

“Oh, it’s alright dear.” The Princess calls from across the room, the smile on her face turning brighter. “Bowser will take wonderful care of him. Do you think you could help me out of this cage?”

“H-Huh? I…” Luigi looks puzzled as Mario blearily waves at him, and the intimidating Koopa King gives an absent half-wave as well. He slowly walks over and takes the princess’s hand, helping her out of the cage. “A-Are you Princess Peach? Ah, y-you’re my big brother’s soulmate?”

Peach laughs and touches Luigi’s cheek. “Not quite, my love…would it be alright if I move your sleeve?”

Mario finds himself being carried out of the room. He marvels at crimson irises still traveling over his face as he’s brought to the castle’s dinning room. 

“I’m still mad.” Mario says, quietly. “You set me on fire. Kidnapping people is a horrible thing to do, too-“

“I asked first.” Bowser defends. “Wanted to make sure my soulmate came in guns blazing. Had conviction, you know? Besides, she wanted a cute little dashing hero. Fair’s fair.”

“…You still set me on fire.”

“Sorry. It hurt?”

“Yeah, it did.”

“Want me to kiss ya better?”

“After you feed me dinner.” Mario says.

His soulmate grins. Mario smiles back.


End file.
